Guns N’ Roses

Guns N’ Roses Overview:

A colossal hard rock force of the late 1980s and early ‘90s, Guns N’ Roses may have suffered a serious dent to their reputation in subsequent years, but for a short time they set the gold standard for rock ‘n’ roll attitude. Led by temperamental frontman Axl Rose, who is the only remaining member from its commercial heyday, Guns N’ Roses fused punk intensity and classic-rock song structure that proved to be a more authentic slice of hard rock and metal than their hair-metal contemporaries could ever hope to deliver.

Early Days:

Guns N’ Roses formed in the mid-‘80s in Los Angeles. Axl Rose and guitarist Izzy Stradlin, who had been in a band together called Hollywood Rose, teamed up with some members of L.A. Guns to start a new group. But after much lineup shuffling, none of the L.A. Guns members remained, replaced by guitarist Slash, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Steven Adler. Calling themselves Guns N’ Roses, the band successfully toured on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, signing to Geffen Records in 1986. After releasing a quickie EP, Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide, the band set to work on their first full-length album.

Unleashing 'Appetite for Destruction':

1987’s Appetite for Destruction is arguably the definitive hard rock album of the 1980s, a scary, compelling, oddly beautiful look at depravity, addiction and desperate stabs at love. Unlike much of the good-time rock ‘n’ roll being peddled by hair-metal bands of the era, there was nothing safe about the sex-and-drugs vision Guns N’ Roses sold to their audience. Rose’s vocals – high-pitched but lethal – and Slash’s muscular hard rock solos matched up perfectly with a crushing rhythm section to give a sense of authenticity to Appetite’s songs. The album has since gone 18-times platinum.

Controversy:

Wanting to continue the sales momentum made possible by Appetite, the band released G N' R Lies the following year. Combining the Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide EP with some new tracks, Lies was mostly a way to wring more dollars out of GNR’s fans before the official follow-up, but it turned out to cause nothing but headaches for the band. One of the new tracks, “One in a Million,” received immediate criticism for its homophobic and bigoted lyrics, opening the door to accusations that Guns N’ Roses weren’t so much documenters of the seedy side of life but actually revelers in its ugliest aspects.

A Sprawling Double Album:

Trying to top Appetite, Guns N’ Roses got insanely ambitious on their next release. Clocking in at around 150 minutes and divided into two separate albums, 1991’s Use Your Illusion records didn’t have the focus of Appetite for Destruction, but their stylistic breadth was astounding, covering everything from orchestral ballads to techno to classic rock. Though enormously successful, the records also reflected band tension – drummer Matt Sorum had replaced Steven Adler, and Izzy Stradlin was unhappy with Rose’s desire to expand the group’s reach beyond hard rock.